The difference between great, good, and just okay reddit AMAs

We want your reddit AMA to be great. We want it to contribute value to the reddit community and generate valuable conversations about your brand. This case study takes a look at three AMAs to see what they did right and wrong.

A Great AMA – Dan, a self-help author

What Dan did well:

He mentions in the title of his AMA that he is giving away his book for free. Everyone likes free!

In his AMA body, he establishes himself as an authority on the topic of social skills by listing his major accomplishments. This also gives the audience enough information to create interesting questions.

The Good AMA – Rick Strassman, author and researcher

What Rick did well:

He held his AMA in r/Psychonaut, a community that is very interested in his work as a researcher and author. It can be more effective to do your AMA in a niche subreddit that is sympathetic to your cause.

The r/Psychonaut subreddit actually requested that Rick do an AMA in their subreddit. He responded to these requests and followed through by doing the AMA. If an audience is requesting an AMA from you, do it!

He communicated to the audience when he would answer questions and then kept them up-to-date by editing his original post. It is important to let the audience know when you are done and to say thank you.

What Rick did not do well:

Rick shared his email address, but he should have linked to his website and/or social media accounts. He missed the opportunity to promote his online presence.

While the r/Psychonaut community is familiar with Rick Strassman, he should have included a brief bio that explains who he is and his notable works. Even if you are a household name in a subreddit, it is smart to give a little background information to frame the direction of the AMA.

He did not respond to the 2nd most upvoted question. He already answered a similar question, so he should have just linked to the other response so anyone reading the AMA will not think he missed the question.

The Just Okay AMA – Barb Oakley and Terry Sejnowski, authors and teachers

What Barb and Terry did well:

Barb included a link to a Twitter post that verifies their AMA. Every AMA should include a verification link. This can be a link to a post on your social media platform or your website.

Barb and Terry provide high quality answers. Many users posted replies thanking them for the great answers.

What Barb and Terry did not do well:

The title of their AMA could have been much better. Specifically, they should have mentioned that their course is free.

The body of their AMA needs to be formatted with paragraphs and beefed up with more info about who they are. I listened to a podcast with Barb the other day and she has so many amazing life experiences that could have been included in the AMA body.

They left the 2nd most upvoted question unanswered. Always go back and check your AMA the day after to ensure you have answered every question that has received upvotes.

Barb posted updates and thank-you’s as comments on the AMA. Any update should be posted as an edit to the original AMA body, in bold. Nobody will see updates posted in the comments section.

Conclusion

Redditors like Dan will crush the AMA every time, but non-redditors need to do a little research and planning before executing their AMAs. If you are thinking about doing an AMA, see the box below to get a free copy of “The Marketer’s Guide to reddit AMAs”.

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